The book “God of the Oppressed” provides a genealogical account of African Americans’ struggle for recognition and conscious independence. Besides, the author discusses how religion has contributed to reinforcing disparities between the Whites and the Blacks. In his perspective, Cone (1997) seems to be continuing with God’s work of liberation of the oppressed. Cone (1997) is a black liberator throughout the book, and his theological position resonates with Christian Biblical teachings. Importantly, his work is a continuation of previous works “Black Theology and Black Power” (1969) and “A Black Theology of Liberation” (1997), which were then summarized into a final account summarizing the continuous dismissal of Black Theology. Throughout the book, Cone (1997) expressed his personal experiences, knowledge, and faith to explain the actual God of the oppressed found in Black Theology. The chosen title for the book resonates well with the content. It is well maintained through the ten chapters of the book since every chapter leads the reader into understanding how deeply the children of God are oppressed. The year of publication, 1975 (first edition of the book), shows the significance and relevance of Cone’s arguments in the book. The enlightenment period that happened before 1975 was essential in shaping Cone’s experience and religious standing. The extremist position of Cone in defining the God of the oppressed was reinforced during this time when Black Theology was receiving a universal dismissal as being retrogressive. Besides, Cone wrote his book during the period that marked the peak of the Black Power movement. He got motivation from the surroundings to envision and contextualize his book’s content to meet the then-Christian narrative.
Part 1: Strengths of the Book
The ten chapters in Cone’s (1997) book serve as an essential foundation for understanding Black Theology. One of the book’s major strengths is defining Black Theory and exposing how it has been dismissed, neglected, and christened backward. The author provides a continuous and progressive movement that seeks to teach and explain Black Theology. He presents his viewpoint and understanding of Black Theology as a member of the Macedonia African Methodist Episcopal Church (A.M.E). For instance, Cone (1997) states that Black Theology has taught us to value and appreciate other people’s religious beliefs and practices. According to Cone (1997), people need to understand and appreciate the critical role that traditional religious practices and beliefs influence people's sociopolitical orientation and their communities at large. For instance, Cone (1997) states that “My point is that one’s social and historical context decides not only the questions we address to God but also the mode of form of the answers given to the questions.” (p.14). From the quoted statement, it is evident that Cone (1997) also emphasized the need for speaking the truth as it formed the building stacks for understanding Black Theology. For example, for one to dismiss or accept Black Theological beliefs and practices, they have to study and go deeper into understanding the significant tenets that guide the reasons and fundamental goals of Black Theology. Hence, through these lenses, truth and theological appreciation are fundamental guidelines for shaping theology, creating experiences, traditions, and beliefs that manifest in people’s religious orientations. Cone (1997) maintains that white theology fails to recognize the significance and relevance of Black Theology. The author explains the cause of this ignorance, “Theology is not a universal language; it is interested language and thus is always a reflection of the goals and aspirations of a particular people in a definite social setting.” (Cone, 1997, p. 36). In perspective, the author maintains that their social context and environment define the religious or theological paradigm of an individual.
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Another strength of the book is liberation. The book discusses the need for liberation of the oppressed from the Gospel. In the ten chapters of the book, Cone (1997) made a compelling case for a contextual and historical conscientiousness among theologians that have indeed led to theological blindness. The book explains how Black Theology has been misinterpreted, dismissed hence providing evidence of the God of the oppressed. In the book, Con (1997) makes the readers understand and appreciate Black Theology’s role in explaining the Black community's social lifestyle. By reading the book, the author incites the readers to question the much-praised status quo in society that has made the African Americans remain comfortable in a lifestyle that has silently subjected them to oppressive social, economic, and political systems. Con (1997) argues that White theology has systematically discriminated against the neutrality of God’s teachings. The thinking about Black Theology’s ineffectiveness cannot transform the Christian ethics of understanding God as a Supreme being who values equality of His creation. However, Con (1997) makes the readers understand God’s role in liberating the forgotten people and rising them for His glory. The book is consistent with God’s mission of liberation and saving a human soul from eternal suffering. In this regard, Black Theology in the book provides an unequivocal Christocentric perspective vision of Christ as the destined Liberator instead of the classical tradition of redefining religion and theology on racial terms.
Part 2: Weaknesses of the Book
The first weakness of the book lies in the tone used in the book. Cone (1997) uses a more aggressive tone and seems angry at some people, especially those dismissing Black Theology. Although the aggressive tone is a negative aspect of professional and Christian ethics in writing, it makes his concerns more authentic and compelling. I viewed this as a weakness since it looks more like intentional defiance of writing classical theological philosophy. The aggressive tone makes the book weak and full of fiery statements and outcompetes for the true need to explain Black Theology’s significance.
Secondly, there is a high probability that Con (1997) could deepen the existing religious hostilities between White and Black Theologies. In the book, the author envisions the need for reconciliation and mutuality. However, his authorship tone and approach to White theology ironically seem to be oppressive and un-liberating for Christians of African descent. Thus, by reading the book, Whites might deepen their animosity about Black Theology and vice versa. Although the book intends to fulfill meaning and understanding of religion and Christian theology devoid of racial connotations, I think Con (1997) missed the need for deep understanding of love and compassion for the oppressed community. However, I find this, not a strange feature in the book since the author lacks a pneumatological perspective of liberation. Also, the author fails to define a community of faith that needs re-establishment.
Part 3: Connection to the Book of Acts in the Bible
The Book of Acts in the Bible (Acts) mainly focuses on the Christian missional community. Acts depict how the early Christians engaged in robust service activities such as serving God, colleagues, and society in general ( Bruce,1988) . Thus, the arguments presented by Con (1997) in his book relate to Acts in that they both demand the need for appreciating the role of Christ in saving the entire generation of humanity. They believe that evangelizing should be premised on spreading the Gospel to all and sundry minus racial prejudice. The book of Acts demands that disciples of Christ spread the Gospel and encourage people to live according to the principles and practices of the Kingdom of God ( Bruce,1988) . Similarly, in his book Con (1997), White theology should be more focused on preaching equality and consistency minus bashing off Black theological beliefs and traditions.
In Acts, the disciples of Christ exercised their work with less regard to social barriers as their primary task was to ensure they spread the Gospel to everyone in the places they visit. The disciples had a vocation inspired by the Holy Spirit. In his book, Con (1997) also demands that white theology needs to spread the Gospel of equality and mutuality inspired by the Holy Spirit instead of demeaning the Black theological, social context of understanding God. Con (1997) the white theology should be focused on preaching the truth. In this sense, a truth engraved in the history of the black people covering their social, economic, and political lives. For instance, Con (1997) opines, “It is impossible to interpret the Scripture correctly and thus understand Jesus' aright unless the interpretation is done in the light of the consciousness of the oppressed in their struggle for liberation.” (p. 32).
References
Bruce, F. F. (1988). The book of Acts (Vol. 5). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing.
Cone, J. H. (1997). God of the Oppressed . Orbis Books.
